Colorado B.S. Thread

I use GPX Viewer. Free and straight forward.

 

Cool we will take Imogene pass into Telluride, thanks for the tip! Any other passes/less-known roads that we could take between Denver and Ouray? Either via I-70 to 50 or 285 to 50?

 

Nope. Unless something drastic happens and they don't get a chance to repair it. I've run it a few times in mine. Starting from the Ouray side there's two alternatives to begin, and one of them is very rough but still doable. Then you're pretty much fine until almost at the top, where there's a couple more rough spots and you do have to pay attention to your line, but again, no real issues. It will take a little longer than going the highway, but not much and as long as you start early enough you should have plenty of time to enjoy it and even make a couple of stops.

Hey! We have a thread for that now! https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/offroad-navigation-discussion-thread.430144/#post-12385951

Oh there's lots of stuff. Just depends on timing and how much you want to bend your route. PS78 already mentioned taking 70 over to Carbondale and then cutting down through Marble and over Schofield to 50. You could also split off at Copper (or take 285), go down to Buena Vista and take Cottonwood (which is just gravel and not a less-known road) to/through Taylor Lake and on over to Gunnison. Or continue south past Cottonwood and take Tincup Pass then turn south at Tincup to get to 50 instead of going over Monarch. It's really a question of time and extra mileage, since getting down to the vicinity of Telluride can take most of a day even just by highways.

Oh, and as another alternative, including finding camping, you can split off 50 and head down to Lake City, then go over Cinnamon or Engineer. There's camping off both. If you did that, do be cautious about incorporating the Mineral Creek descent, which is the fastest way from Engineer to Ouray. I haven't run it in years, and others may have more current info, but I've heard it's worse than when I did it before and may give stock vehicles pause. Instead head down into Silverton, and then if you don't want to go all the way up to Ouray and over Imogene, just take Ophir and come up to Telluride from the south. You really can't go wrong no matter what route you take in that part of the state. Unless you're pressed for time and try to do too much.

 

I would suggest going via Lake City and the Alpine loop mentioned above.

If your into John Wayne movies you can head through Gunnison and south at Cimarron via the back roads to Silver Jack Reservoir ending up on Hwy 550 between Ridgeway and Quray. Some cool scenery and such but not sure it's worth the delay

 

Good point on the front hanger. Which is why I have 61" Alcan Springs with my shackle flip set up. Alcan built them to my specs for weight, arched them correctly for a standard shackle set up, and even arched the driver's side higher to help with taco lean. They are pricey but they work great.

The problem is that the AP springs are designed and arched for an inverted shackle set up. Not for a standard shackle set up. Also they are factory length 59" springs which are too short to show any real gains from doing a shackle flip. You are better off leaving the shackles inverted and just running the AP pack as is.

To note: I had AP EXPO packs prior to doing my shackle flip. Awesome springs. It was noted after the shackle flip that the springs were bending strangely because they were not designed for that application. Within a year I broke a leaf and ordered my Alcan's.

Oh hey looky there. Thanks man!

 

Lake City, Engineer Pass, Silverton...Handlebars for a beer.

 

You could even head over Ophir Pass and come into Telluride via Lizard Head route.

 

And......fuck it, it's the weekend!

 

Thanks for all the help guys,

Current route is:

285, over tin cup pass then down into Gunnison (one night around here)

Owl Creek Pass (by Silver Jack Res)- (one night around Ouray, maybe Ridgeway SP)

Imogene Pass into Telluride

Further suggestions?

 

Don't flip the shackle...

 

anyone heard or gotten their truck worked at Slee Offroad?

 

Great guys. They do quality work.

 

https://lnoldan.com/driving-to-the-clouds/ -- I couldn't resist driving up Pikes Peak once I realized I was only a few miles down the road. They made me stop at about 10,500' or at around the 12 mile mark. However it was still a fantastic run. Y'all are lucky!

 

So you are not planning a shackle flip for yours?

 

And traded in the Tundra...I don't even know you anymore.

Just Kidding!

 

You may have to deviate from that plan a little. As of this morning Imogene is still closed, Ophir is still closed on the west side and obv black bear is too. So there's no forest road connections over the mountain range right now. It rained hard in town yesterday and was black up north. I'm sure they got a few inches up high again. So if yo get yourself to Ouray you'll have to backtrack around to telluride or drop down through silverton and Durango and connect to 160 west.

You can get over cinnamon and engineer passes but that only gets you part of the way.

 

new 3rd gen owner?

 

Poker run tomorrow, rain or shine, on the bike...I'll be on it today too...in the rain...been doing it for years
And people are worried about wheeling in the rain....
smfh